Dear Texas… About Our Relationship…

Please come back, nice day!!
Photo credit: Doree Weller

Dear Texas,

I wanted to talk to you about our relationship.  When I agreed to leave Arizona for you, you were hot.  Not as hot as Arizona, but your other assets made me think that it would be okay.  At first, things were really good, but then you started running warm and cold.  Last Saturday, we were outside together all day, and it was beautiful.  Just a few days later though, you were so cold to me that I didn’t want to go outside.  You really made me feel like you didn’t want me around.

Meanwhile, Arizona is as predictable as ever.  Yes, I’ve continued seeing Arizona, but you have to understand, we have a history together.  Just because I visit doesn’t mean I don’t want our relationship to work.  I do, but you have to work with me here.  If I only knew what to expect, if you weren’t so moody, I’d feel better.

I mean, it’s not like you’re Pennsylvania.  That is one cold beotch right there.

I’m not saying you have to be hot all the time.  I love you even when you let yourself go a little over the winter.  The grass needs a trim and the leaves are mostly gone on the trees.  I’m okay with that; I gained a few pounds over the holidays.  Just… I’d like to know where I stand.

Is that too much to ask?

Love,

Doree

I’m Tired of Sweating

It was cool in there, but like 98% humidity. I was soaked!
Innerspace, Texas
Photo Credit: Doree Weller

I don’t like to sweat, unless I’m dressed properly.  In yoga pants or bike shorts and a T-shirt, I’m okay with it.  I do whatever I’m supposed to be doing, then I shower and change back to normal clothes.  In Arizona, you don’t sweat all that much.  What they say about it being a dry heat is true.  However, you get filthy from all the dust in the air, so even if you only sweat a little, you still need a shower.

Out here in Texas, you sweat, even if you don’t feel hot.  You sweat in your house.  You sweat walking to your car.  You sweat in your car.  You seriously sweat every-freaking-where.  I’m tired of sweating.  I know it’s my body’s cooling mechanism, and blah-blah-blah, but I still hate it.  But it’s funny… in Arizona, you have to drink gallons of water to stay hydrated.  You con’t feel like you’re sweating, but you are, and if you don’t drink excessive water, you get headaches and fatigued and stuff.  In Arizona, I would hike 7 miles, drink 128 ounces of water, and still not have to use the bathroom.  Here, if you drink 24 ounces of water, sweat 37 ounces, and then have to run for the bathroom.  How does that work?!  Seriously!

I know that it doesn’t sound awesome when you say that it’s 120 degrees “but it’s a dry heat.”  It doesn’t feel great either, when the sun is seriously burning your skin, and you feel like a vampire (only not the wussy-sparkling kind, the kind of vampire that gets worse than a sunburn), sticking to the shadows.  That’s how Arizona feels.  And if you do sweat, there’s so little moisture in the air, that it dries in a few minutes and you quickly forget about it.  In Texas, it’s definitely cooler overall, and I’m comfortable enough with the sun that I can eat garlic without fear again.

But seriously… enough with the sweating… okay?

When All’s Right With The World

Photo Credit: Doree Weller

Every once in awhile, I just feel GOOD, for no real reason, as if everything were right with the world.  I had one of those nights recently.  The husband and I had gotten quite a bit done during the day, cleared off some projects that needed to be done.   Afterwards, my brother and I hiked 3 miles in 106 degrees.  We had some yummy Indian curry afterward.  When I got home, I made myself some lemonade with juice I’d frozen from my trees.  I lounged in the bathtub with a good book, and as I got out and started drying out, it struck me that I just felt really good, as if everything were all right with the world.

Of course, no sooner did I think that than the dog started barking as if someone were breaking into the house.  No one was, of course.  It was the wind and rumbling thunder that upset her.  Still, I didn’t know that for a minute, and my heart got quite the workout.

When I settled back down and discovered what got her going, I realized that I still felt good.

Do you have those times too, for no reason at all?

Day 3- 30 Days of Gratitude

1.  I’m soooooo grateful for the librarian who decided not to reshelve my book that was on hold yesterday.  I called and asked if they’d leave it, even though I forgot to pick it up, and they will!  Otherwise, I’d have to go back on the hold list, and there would be 295 people ahead of me.

2.  I’m grateful for the wonderful weather.  I adore this time of year.

3.  I’m happy that we have orange roses today.

W is for Weather

Did you ever notice how, in conversation, if you have nothing to talk about, you talk about the weather?  In the winter, if you want to start a conversation in Arizona, just mention how lovely the weather is here compared with in other states.  In the summer, mention how hot it is.  As if these were topics that need to be discussed.  It’s going to be gorgeous or so hot you can’t stand it no matter what.  So why do we discuss it?  Just to have something to say?  I do it myself, so this isn’t a criticism.  Is it because it’s a safe topic?  Seriously, does anyone actually LIKE discussing the weather?  Like, you get up in the morning and think, “Hey, today I’m going to stand in line at Starbucks and say to someone, ‘Isn’t this lovely weather we’re having?'”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen characters discussing the weather in a book (unless it’s really unusual or noteworthy).  As I’ve said before, we do things in real life that no one writes about in books.  That’s partly because books are an escape, and if we wanted to hear about bathroom habits, we’d just call someone over 80.  Or most men.  It cracks me up when people talk about “realistic” dialog.  Honestly, no one wants to read realistic dialog.  It would be horribly boring most of the time.  Don’t believe me?  Just listen in to strangers.  It’s probably nothing interesting.

So the moral of the story?  There is none.  Other than that if you have nothing to blog about, blog about the weather.